University text book from the “Astrobiology: Exploring Life on Earth and Beyond” series published by Elsevier. This book examines the times and places —before life existed on Earth— that might have provided suitable environments for life to occur. The series covers a broad range of topics encompassing laboratory and field research into the origins and evolution of life on Earth, life in extreme environments and the search for habitable environments in our solar system and beyond, including exoplanets, exomoons and astronomical biosignatures.